Vol 4. Chapter 143: The Scent of Other Girls

"Plum Blossom Garden, huh~... I see now, hehehe~"

After leaping down from the rooftop and returning to the deserted lawn in the back garden, little Yuan'er couldn't help revealing a mischievous smile.

"..."

Meanwhile, watching the pink-haired girl chuckling wickedly, the little dragon girl dressed in a first-year student's uniform fell silent. With extremely complicated feelings, she gazed at the black smoke slowly rising in the distance.

W-What...

What on earth is this girl trying to do?!

Melilov, the little dragon girl, couldn't help roaring inwardly.

At this moment, Her Excellency the Holy Dragon King was thoroughly bewildered.

Originally,

When she heard that Yuan'er intended to blow up a dormitory—and not just any dormitory, but the dormitory belonging to the Child of Destiny—Melilov had worn an expression that practically said, "Just as I expected."

—"As expected, Abyss Demons will always be Abyss Demons! Their nature never changes, and they still harbor intense hostility toward the Chosen One! This attack... must be intended to blow the Child of Destiny to death!"—

That was exactly what Melilov had thought at the time.

However,

Just as the little dragon girl was considering how to stop this little tyrant, Yuan'er's subsequent actions completely overturned her expectations.

This little brat hadn't even waited for the Child of Destiny to return to her dormitory!

She had simply blown it up?!

W-What was she trying to accomplish?

What was the point of blowing up the Child of Destiny's dormitory if it wouldn't cause her any harm?

And besides...

Shouldn't Abyss Demons harbor overwhelming hostility toward the Child of Destiny?

Then why...

Why was there not the slightest trace of killing intent in this girl's eyes when she looked at the Child of Destiny?

Instead, her eyes were filled with anticipation?!

...

It had to be said that Melilov was completely unable to make sense of the current situation.

And just as the little dragon girl was struggling to figure things out, Yuan'er had already skipped happily over to her side and taken her little hand.

Her cheerful voice immediately reached Melilov's ears.

"Little Meli, let's go!"

"G-Go...? W-Where are we going?"

"To blow up Plum Blossom Garden~ Hehehe~"

"W-We're... blowing up another one?!"

"Of course! Before we send Sister Mengxi over to my mom... Hmm..."

As she spoke, Yuan'er seemed to remember something, and her words abruptly came to a halt.

Then the little girl shook her head and, as though trying to laugh the matter off, patted Melilov's little head.

"Anyway, we just need to blow up another couple of places! Don't worry! We're only blowing up empty dormitories, so none of the big sisters will get hurt!"

With that,

Little Yuan'er grabbed Melilov's hand and, following the map, started running toward the nearby Plum Blossom Garden Dormitory.

Melilov, however, asked with considerable hesitation,

"Um... Do I really have to come along too?"

"Of course! Without your magic staff, little Meli, how are we supposed to get through the security checks and detection barriers? So... hurry up, little Meli! The sooner we finish, the more time we'll have to play some other, even more interesting games tonight!"

"Wuuu..."

Faced with Yuan'er's rather forceful attitude, Melilov, terrified that the girl might tell her mother what had happened, could only helplessly allow herself to be dragged toward the Plum Blossom Garden Dormitory...

Along the way,

Melilov couldn't help looking guiltily at the magic staff in her hand, which was absurdly oversized compared to her tiny body.

Naturally, the staff didn't belong to the little dragon girl.

It belonged to Vinarola, the principal of Yexinlian Academy.

After knocking Vinarola unconscious with a single beam of light, Melilov had temporarily "borrowed" her staff.

Her purpose was to use the staff's recognition enchantments and access privileges to help Yuan'er bypass the academy's various detection systems.

If Vinarola ever found out...

That she had used her staff to cause explosions all over the academy...

Vinarola would probably be furious enough to die on the spot...

"I'm sorry... Vinarola... This sovereign... This sovereign... I-I had no choice! I was forced into this!"

After struggling with her conscience and offering a silent "confession" in her heart, Melilov allowed Yuan'er to drag her along like a helpless little doll as they hurried toward the Plum Blossom Garden Dormitory.

...

...

——

Meanwhile, inside the teachers' residential apartments, our Miss Yumo was standing with her arms crossed, looking somewhat displeased at the dazzling assortment of delicious dishes spread across the dining table.

Yumo had no need to eat, so this lavish feast had naturally not been prepared for herself.

It was for her precious little daughter.

In Yumo's eyes, although Yuan'er had already become a powerful Demon King-class existence, she was still essentially a child barely over ten years old, someone who was still in the process of growing up.

Therefore, to ensure that Yuan'er could grow up healthily and develop properly, Yumo believed that sufficient nutrition was absolutely indispensable.

In fact, one of the reasons Yumo had been willing to take a few risks and allow Yuan'er to accompany her to Yexinlian Academy was precisely so that she could better look after her little daughter and carefully nurture the girl's healthy development.

And so,

After finishing her teaching duties for the day, Mother Yumo had painstakingly prepared this delicious, beautifully presented, and nutritionally balanced dinner for Yuan'er.

However,

Although dinner was ready,

When mealtime arrived, the little girl who was supposed to be sitting here eating was nowhere to be seen.

Like most parents, Mother Yumo was rather displeased with a child who failed to come home on time for dinner.

If it weren't for the need to conceal her identity and suppress her aura and power, Yumo would have been tempted to release her Shadow of Silence Power across the entire academy, locate the little brat, and drag her straight back home to eat.

Just as she had done with Limo, Liyu, and the others back in the Great Winter Forest...

Wuuu...

"Seriously... Didn't I tell that girl not to get too carried away playing and to come home on time for dinner? And now look what time it is..."

Looking at the clock nearby, the girl complained repeatedly in dissatisfaction.

Where on earth had Yuan'er, who had always returned home punctually, run off to play today?

However,

Just as Yumo was leaning against the sofa, waiting for her daughter to return, a sudden knocking sound echoed through the apartment.

"Knock~ Knock~"

?!

Hm?

That little brat... Has she finally decided to come home?

Miss Yumo couldn't help raising an eyebrow as she looked toward the apartment entrance, seemingly considering just how "sternly" she should scold her disobedient child.

However, her expression soon changed slightly.

"Hm? Wait... That's not Yuan'er... This aura... It's that girl??"

For a moment,

Confusion flashed through Yumo's disguised azure-blue eyes.

Coming here at this hour?

Did something happen again?

Don't tell me... she needs another replenishment of power?

But...

That shouldn't be necessary, right?

I only just let her absorb so much a couple of days ago...

Yumo was rather puzzled.

Nevertheless, she didn't have much time to dwell on the matter.

Raising her hand to stop several maids who were about to answer the door, Miss Yumo personally walked to the entrance and decisively opened it.

As expected, the familiar silver-haired girl dressed in Yexinlian Academy's white uniform appeared before her.

"Hm?"

At this very moment,

The tall, breathtakingly beautiful silver-haired girl was standing somewhat awkwardly outside the door, twirling a strand of her silky silver-white hair around her slender fingers.

Apart from her clothes being slightly disheveled, her appearance was almost identical to how she had looked during class earlier that day.

Even the books she was holding against her chest were the textbooks used during today's lessons, and she was still carrying the small document bag she had brought to class...

Upon seeing Yumo dressed in her casual home clothes, Mengxi playfully stuck out her tongue and raised a hand in greeting.

"Good evening, Teacher Rain."

"Student Mengxi? Why have you suddenly come here...? Didn't you go back to your dormitory to rest...? D-Don't tell me you're... 'hungry' again...?"

Yumo's expression became somewhat peculiar.

"No, Sister Yumo!! You're overthinking it!"

Mengxi hurriedly shook her head frantically, denying Yumo's speculation.

She certainly didn't want Sister Yumo to see her as the sort of girl who was "desperately hungry" and constantly unsatisfied, craving intimacy all day long.

Although,

If Sister Yumo didn't mind, or if Sister Yumo actually wanted her to be like that~

Then becoming that sort of girl wouldn't be a problem at all~

Hmm...

Never mind. That was getting off topic.

"I came here because I wanted to ask you, Teacher, to approve a dormitory transfer permit for me."

"A permit? Why are you suddenly transferring dormitories?"

Yumo asked in confusion.

However, even as she asked the question, Miss Yumo's brows involuntarily knitted together.

Because after taking a slightly closer look at the silver-haired girl standing before her, Yumo noticed something unusual about Mengxi.

Something was wrong with her scent...

For Yumo, who frequently looked after Mengxi and had even experienced zero-distance, and indeed negative-distance, physical contact with her, Mengxi's scent couldn't possibly be more familiar.

Yet today,

Although Mengxi still carried that familiar, sacred fragrance, there were faint traces of several other scents mixed into it.

Scents that didn't belong to Mengxi.

Scents that had rubbed off on her from the outside...

"T-These... scents..."

The next instant,

Yumo bit her lower lip, and a faint trace of black energy began to emerge within her eyes.

Before Mengxi could even begin explaining, Yumo suddenly moved right up against her under the silver-haired girl's astonished gaze.

Then she began sniffing Mengxi's clothes and face.

As Mengxi's scent continued to enter Yumo's nose, Miss Yumo's expression grew increasingly grave, leaving Mengxi utterly bewildered.

?!!

"Eh??"

The explanation Mengxi had been about to give was immediately swallowed back down.

The girl stared in astonishment at the flawless, beautiful face now mere inches from her own and scratched the back of her head in confusion.

"What's wrong... Sister Yumo? Is... Is there... something wrong with me?"

"On your body..."

"On my body?"

"There's the scent of so many other girls..."

"Eh??"